Men's Golf

Cut it out

McDaniel just misses cut, Bowman plays on at NCAA Championship

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Greg Bowman (Catonsville, Md./Catonsville) followed up his career-low round of 70 with an even-par 72 to post a 142 and make the cut as an individual, leading McDaniel at the 2011 NCAA Division III men's golf championship at Grandover Resort on Wednesday.

The Green Terror posted its lowest round of the spring with a 299 in the second round to finish with a 36-hole total of 604 to finish 19th, missing the cut by four strokes.

For the first time in Division III history, the field was trimmed to 15 teams this year and teams were going historically low just to make it to the final 36 holes. In order to make the top 15 in 2011, teams had to average 300 or better in both rounds.

A three-team playoff was conducted for the final two spots and two rounds were needed to set the final field. Millikin, which advanced after the first round after an even-par, and La Verne, which was even in the second round, made it into top 15 while Transylvania missed the cut despite a round of 298 on Wednesday.

By comparison, in 2010 – when the field was only cut to the top 23 teams – the 15th-place team after 36 holes carded a 619 at Hershey.

However, one the 15 teams are determined the next six individual low scores are also awarded spots in the field. Bowman, by virtue of being one of 13 players under par through the first half of the tournament, will play the final 36 holes over the next two days on the East Course.

Playing the West Course – a course playing 245 yards shorter than the East Course – on Wednesday, McDaniel was the first team off the tee and set a torrid pace early on, combining to be four-under par through the first six holes of play.

The team finished the afternoon with five rounds in the 70s to post its fourth round of the season under 300 and improve six strokes from Tuesday round.

Paul Kovalcheck (Fairless Hills, Pa./Truman) finished the second round with a two-over par 74 to card a 154 in the final two rounds of his collegiate career. KJ Mazurek (Rumson, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven) posted the same 36-hole score in his final two rounds, adding a 76 to his 78.

Logan Connaughton (Matawan, N.J./Matawan Regional) posted a round of 77 to finish with a score of 160 while Bryan Johnson (Hampstead, Md./North Carroll) carded a 79 on Wednesday to record a 36-hole total of 156.

With the 19th-place finish, the Green Terror posted the lowest round of any team from the Mid-Atlantic Region. With that designation comes an automatic bid into the 2012 Fred Kravetz Invitational – a prestigious six-team tournament that includes some of the top teams in the nation and plays one round at Oak Hill Country Club. McDaniel played in the tournament as an at-large team in 2011 but did not have a chance to play at the site of the 2013 PGA Championship due to weather that canceled Sunday's second round.

Bowman is part of the first group of individuals, teeing off the first tee of the East Course at 8:20 a.m. on Thursday.